SERV and MRC Volunteer Programs

Arkansas SERV and MRC Volunteer Programs

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)-Arkansas

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of locally grouped volunteers, organized to improve and sustain the public health and safety of their communities through collaborative partnerships with local health units and offices of emergency management. The Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) program, established in 2002, is a volunteer based coordination that identifies, trains, and organizes medical and public health professionals, as well as lay volunteers (non-medical) to supplement and support on-going emergency responses, critical medical personnel issues, and public health outreach within the state. MRCs are made up of diverse and collective groups of people who are compassionate about the wellbeing of others, those close to them and their communities. To volunteer with MRC shows a willingness to harness an internal passion to serve in a role to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies as well as to promote healthy living in their communities.

Arkansas has been and can be hit by natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods, and ice storms, as well as impacted by hurricane or public health outbreak evacuees. MRCs have provided valuable support to communities during such events. The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) coordinates this effort and is available to provide guidance on the establishment of units, sustainability tools, and applicable training to interested persons.

If you are interested in forming or joining a MRC Unit please locate your nearest MRC Unit and review the unit registration requirements via Medical Reserve Corps then contact the MRC State Coordinator at the contact information below or the nearest unit leader:

MRC Units in Central Region

MRC Units in Northwest/North Central Region

MRC Units in Southeast Region

System of Emergency Response Volunteers (SERV)

System of Emergency Response Volunteers (SERV) is a registry system to preregister and credential volunteers prior to their deployment response to a natural or man-made disaster, public health outreach campaign or emergency.

AR SERV is administered by the Arkansas Department of Health, Preparedness and Response Branch. AR SERV works to recruit, train, manage, and deploy volunteers (medical and non-medical) to assist during emergencies and day to day activities by providing additional staff to meet health/medical surge, population monitoring, public health outreach, or family reunification needs.
Please consider the following prior to making the decision to serve:

Your information will be kept secure and shared only with approved ADH personnel, volunteer program affiliates, and emergency management officials during a disaster response and during non-emergency public health events and activities.

When your services are requested for disaster response, you will be given as many details as possible about your role and responsibilities as well as situational or "Just in Time" training.

As a volunteer, you have the right to say "yes" or "no" to any requests for your services.

As a volunteer, you have the right to decide how far you are willing to travel and how long you are willing to serve.

You may be asked to volunteer for public health outreach activities such as mass flu clinics, Zika-related educational interventions, or call center staffing, etc.